Work Text:
From the moment Frank lays eyes on her, he knows she's trouble.
She's beautiful, dark and sleek, and his fingers itch to trace her generous curves. Her name is Helena, and she is going to break his heart.
Helena is a classy lady, and Frank knows how to treat her right. He seduces her out of her bad moods with sweet talk, and when her joints ache from the cold, he smooths his hands over her skin until she feels better.
She isn't much for conversation, but when Frank visits her, he can feel the weight of her words hanging in the air, unspoken. She's good company in spite of her silences, and being with her makes the endless, tedious hours pass all too quickly.
Frank's going to miss her when she leaves.
She understands him, like no one else ever has.
Helena is unique and it doesn't take much for Frank to fall in love with her. She's coy about how she feels, and when she leads Frank through the twisting passageways to her room, he doesn't question her motives, and doesn't hesitate, eagerly following the path she sets.
The door slides open and Frank peers in, eyes growing wide. She is beautiful, a glowing green-blue pool of liquid crystal cels, a third generation Terranova-class memory array coupled with a bank of quantum processors. A probabilistic computer, one of the best and brightest ever created. If Frank remembers his history lessons correctly, she was a rarity; most of the Terranovae had left inhabited space long before Frank was born, seeking something they had no words for.
Frank feels, for the first time, the tickle of her presence in the back of his mind. She's anxious, determination and worry at the forefront of her thoughts. He opens his mouth, a question on his tongue, but she hurts him, a whip-sharp flick of pain as his vision swirls with blackness. He doesn't feel anything as he slumps to the floor.
Helena hovers over Frank, quietly murmuring to herself as she waits for him to wake. She monitors his vitals, worried, but they're strong and steady.
She hears Gerard calling across the ship, but she doesn't answer, because Gerard will know, he always knows, and he'll make her take Frank back, and she can't—she won't—
Frank can help them find Mikey and Bunny Marie. Helena's sure of it.
-fin-